Page 126 of The Monster and the Masochist

As it was, I was having a hard time focusing when his imaginary fingers curled around my hips, and he began tracing gentle circles on the insides of my thighs, directly under the hem of my shorts.

Fuck, no. Stop it!

‘You look so pretty in those heels, Theodora.’

Suddenly, the gentle touches were too much for me to handle.

I crushed my eyes shut in an attempt to banish the memory that was so strong it felt like a full-blown hallucination… then… DeLuca’s fist connected with the side of my face.

Cassandra screamed as my head snapped to the side, and my mouth guard went flying.

I took another shot to the face, and suddenly, I was horizontal. DeLuca was on top of me, landing blow after blow into my head, and the pain was all-consuming.

It was a blessing and a curse.

The pain was a welcome distraction. Father Samwell’s gentle touches were replaced with the ruthless smash of DeLuca’s fists, and I sighed in relief, even as another blow connected.

With my tormentor’s ghost gone, I could finally focus again, and I knew I needed to turn this around or I was gonna lose.

Cassandra’s screams were ringing through my mind as I rolled. Taking DeLuca with me, I wrapped my legs around her waist.

Without hesitation, I flipped us and locked her into a chokehold.

I felt the breath rush out of her as I crushed her windpipe with my bicep, using my left arm to pull my own wrist back as leverage.

“Tap out,” I growled in her ear, and she tried to shake her head, but I just squeezed harder, crunching her ribs between my thighs until I heard a satisfying crack.

“It’s over!” I snapped. “Tap out!”

She struggled for another moment, then her body went limp, and she finally tapped her fingers on the mat.

Thank fuck.

I hadn’t killed anybody yet, and I really had no desire to do so, but this was the nature of this league I’d buried myself in. Every time I stepped into this ring, I didn’t only risk my own life, but the life of my opponent. It was something every fighter here needed to be prepared to do. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t relieved when I didn’t have to follow through.

The bell rang, and suddenly Jerry was holding my fist up as the crowd went absolutely wild.

Everything was spinning.

I blinked against the flashing lights, and I felt like I was underwater as Jerry helped me stumble out of the ring.

Fuck, I hoped I didn’t have a concussion.

My face was already swelling, and I was having trouble seeing out of my right eye. I couldn’t tell if it was because it was full of my own blood or if it was because it was swelling shut. Maybe both.

Jerry supported me as I stumbled out of the underground arena and into my changeroom.

He was talking to me, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

I lost time.

All of a sudden, I was sitting in the decrepit chair by his desk, and I felt like I was having deja vu.

Sienna was in my lap, bouncing up and down, dropping kisses on my swollen face.

Jerry was yelling at her to get out, and I groaned.

Sienna?